So, hey, remember that thing that came upon you – suddenly stepping in front of you, or sneakily after a long, subtle entrenchment -and demanded all your time? And your response was: well, of course, my newest love of my life! You are so amazing and brilliant in your awesomeness and beauty, how could I possible ignore you for a moment? Everything and everyone else in my life? Psh. What and who are you talking about?

Yeah. That thing. That fascinating new program at the college that they offer in the evenings. That need to be there for a family member. That creative photography project that gets you into your flow state. That charity work that speaks to your heart and values, and creates results.

Been there. Done that. Any and all of those things above – and so many more! – are worthwhile, love-filled endeavours that you can and should give yourself glorious permission to do. With abandon*. In entirety*.

*As it best fits your life.

The devil’s in the details. How does this crazy new thing fit your life? It’s not about whether or not you accept the endeavour. It’s how you connect it to you and your life.

I’ve written before about letting new shiny opportunities drop in and take over my life, and how there comes a point when I realise that my shifted balance won’t hold. And how other new health changes appear over time and what steps we take to manage.

You don’t always have a say when things show up. Sometimes, it might look like you don’t even have a say in how deep you have to go, or how fast…and it’s worth really exploring how much control you do have here. And you always have control in recognizing and managing the other areas of your life around this new change.

First step: Identify each and every area of your life. They are all connected. Look critically at the shifts this change will bring and it may be different for each area. Acknowledge the shifts and share them with the folks who are affected, if you need to.

Next step: Keep checking back in on the passion progress. Okay, you thought your life would shift in a few ways. Was that true? What else changed? So you’ve dropped in, let go and are off on the ride … and it wasn’t as fun as you thought? Scope creep creeped up and now you’re in way deeper than you ever intended? Are you still cool with this? Now is your chance to ask some tough questions to get back on track, realise the reality of your passion and drop deeper or cut loose.

Lastly: Be willing to adjust when other areas of life step in. Did another piece of life shift? It is okay to re-evaluate and reset. It’s allowed. One of my core beliefs is to honour my commitments and, while I generally consider that a blessing…it’s can also be a curse. Things change. Shit happens. Perspectives shift and reality rears its head in ways that we never could imagine or plan for. So step back and regroup. Is everything still cool now, in this time and space? If not, what can you shift to make it better? Do that. Stretch something out. Let something go. Pass something to someone else. Be flexible.

When you connect to your passion, it is magical. Yes, unicorns and rainbows and fairy dust and jazz hands magical in all the cheesy ways. And real world work is fun, including the stuff I don’t like to do magical. Staying connected to the pieces of the passion that make it work for you keeps the whole thing real, relevant and right for you.

What keeps you connected? How do you stay true to your passion, with all its parts?